Day 10. Rest Day in Sandpoint

So we just completed a whopping tough ride of 0 miles. Yes! Zero!! It was a nice break. Legs still a bit stiff if I stretch them just right (or wrong). But nothing that is a problem. We have been busy food loading today. One more delicious meal to go so that tomorrow we will tear up the pavement! (We hope.)

The next few days we are in the heart of Grizzly Bear country as it exists in the lower 48. Many of you know I have no love for these unpredictable creatures and that I think it is high crime to reintroduce them in places like Cabinet mountain range which we will be riding through for at least a day. Why do we think our forefathers had the good sense to remove them from this area in the first place. It was not just for sport.

We heard another good Grizzly story about how fast they are. There was a guy in Alaska who on his ORV (off road vehicle) was able to follow a Grizzly that was running all out down a gravel road. He matched his speed and found he was going 45 miles per hour. That a bit tough to swallow. I can't ride my bike that fast except down a steep hill. Top human speed running is somewhere around 12 mph and that is not for long.

Well, this is some of the prettiest country we've ever been in. We have visited here before. There is a variety of diverse wildlife (and Grizzlies :( ). We estimate 5 more days of mountains before emerging on the high Montana plains near Cut Bank. Tomorrow we will leave Idaho.

Check out this photo of the bike trail we were to take into Sandpoint.



Note the unique Idaho engineering with the self leveling dirt surface. We did try the path further on where I was reminded of another Idaho feature: frost heaves. It gets cold enough here for winter permafrost and during spring thaw it can cause pavement to buckle into peaked little ridges that are fabulous to run across in the tree shadows when bombing down the hill at 20+ mph. YeHawww!!!!

Sandpoint is a nice little town with a lot of promise. It looks like it has tried to become a tourist mecca for skiing and other outdoor activities. The poor economy does seem to be taking its toll. There is this nice little bridge mall, Cedar Street Mall, that is built on a bridge. Years ago (about 20) this was full of fun little shops and restaurants. Now it is completely empty but for one expresso/gelato store. It is still a nice structure and setting. We are hoping things pick up soon.

Here is a picture of Crystal Falls from yesterday.



Later!!

-Pete